Crystal Palace

Highlights and analysis from Boxing Day's eight Premier League fixtures.

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Crystal Palace's 21-year-old English full-back Danny Imray is wanted by several Championship and League One promotion-chasers looking to sign him on loan for the second half of the campaign. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

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Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, speaking to Amazon Prime: "It's okay it is a point. I think the game was like we expected, a lot of duels and very intense. They are doing well and on a run so it is fine.

"We knew that set plays especially in the first half we struggled twice but in the end we did well in defending. They had several shots but we didn't need a big save from our goalkeeper. We had three or four opportunities to score, overall I think it's okay.

On their momentum with one defeat in seven league games: "Every Premier League game is tough, especially away games. It's important you are stable in defending and waiting for situations. Of course there are things to improve but overall it's going in the right direction."

On the team's character: "You could see today that they played very direct, in behind, had a lot of pace almost from every position. It makes it difficult to play against them. Sometimes you move the ball very quickly and then we could switch the sides and create situations. It was a good performance and a very important point."

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It was not exactly the most enthralling of performances from Crystal Palace in their draw with Bournemouth on Boxing Day, but it was an important return to form nevertheless.

They bounced back from successive league and cup defeats by Arsenal last week to hold a Cherries side who are pushing to secure a spot in Europe next season and claimed an impressive win against Manchester United last weekend.

Palace reduced them to just four shots on target - albeit allowing them to have 18 shots in total - and coped well under the constant pressure from the hosts.

They kept a clean sheet as they avoided defeat and have now lost just one of their past seven Premier League games, a record which shows there have been ample positives as of late.

Attention will now turn to Sunday's game against Southampton, a fixture against the league's bottom-placed side which is a much better chance to get back to winning ways.

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Crystal Palace have lost just one of their last seven Premier League games (W2 D4) after losing four of the six directly before that.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Bournemouth's performance

What did you make of Crystal Palace's display?

Come back to this page on Friday to find a selection of your replies

There are eight matches in the Premier League on Thursday, and we will bring you every moment.

• Manchester City v Everton (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Crystal Palace

• Chelsea v Fulham

• Newcastle v Aston Villa

• Nottingham Forest v Tottenham

• Southampton v West Ham

• Wolves v Manchester United (17:30)

• Liverpool v Leicester (20:00)

Kick-off time 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

This week, he takes on Eats Everything, aka DJ and producer Daniel Pearce.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

I am not going to overthink this one.

Until they lost to Arsenal twice last week, Crystal Palace were showing signs of improvement, but Bournemouth have been brilliant.

Andoni Iraola's side thoroughly deserved to beat Manchester United on Sunday. They always create loads of chances and, at the moment, they are taking them.

Eats Everything's prediction: 2-1

Bournemouth are absolutely on fire - as United found out on Sunday, unfortunately. I love Antoine Semenyo, who is an ex-Bristol City player and is absolute dynamite, but the whole team just look really solid and play amazing football.

Palace have started to kick on a bit now too, and Oliver Glasner is doing a good job there, but I'm definitely going with Bournemouth here.

Read the full predictions and have your say

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For me, wherever I played, I'd always see where the first game was, where the last game was, and where we were at Christmas.

There is such a big difference between being at home on Boxing Day versus being away because, depending on what your manager is like, if you've got an away game there is a chance you're training on Christmas Day.

Some of the toughest times I had was when we had away games on Boxing Day and we had to come in to train at four or five on Christmas. That's when everything is just starting at home and everyone is really enjoying themselves and you have to leave.

If you lose you are sat in the hotel having walked away from friends and family all for no points. It's not the best feeling and as a consequence you bring home some of that disappointment with you.

But, in reality, you just know it is the busiest time of the year. The floodlights are always on for the games, the conditions get that little bit tougher, you've got games it feels like every three or four days.

I think it's an exciting part of the season because you can gain real, significant momentum but ultimately it comes down to are you winning games.

I think the Christmas period itself can be tough if you have got family but in reality it always feels nicer when you get that win on Boxing Day. The atmosphere in the stadiums is a little bit different, the atmosphere among the players is a bit different.

You're very thankful to get the chance to do what you do, but if you end up losing on Boxing Day or around that spell it is rubbish because it almost feels like it was a waste of time with all the efforts you put in.

But, I get it. The fans love it, there is a lot of clamour around it. You lose track of days just like everyone else does after Christmas and before New Year but it is great to play in front of those types of crowds and it just does feel different playing during that week or two.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

Alex Pewter
Fan writer

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If there has been any significant change in 2024, it has been the arrival of Oliver Glasner and his coaching staff.

Like many other clubs, Crystal Palace have the habit of drifting from one existential crisis to another - real or imagined. Yet, while Glasner opened his account with a routine 3-0 victory over a soon-to-be relegated Burnley, it took seven weeks and a mid-season training camp for his true impact to be felt.

This brings us to Anfield, the classic underdogs against a daunting Jurgen Klopp and his team, then only three points off the top of the league table.

Into the 13th minute, starting with a throw-in on the right-hand side in the Liverpool half, Glasner's team unfurled a 17-pass move that shifted the ball from right to left, back via defence, and a combination of one-touch passes back down the left flank.

Eventually, the team released Tyrick Mitchell into the area, who cut it back, giving Eberechi Eze a casual goal to score from the edge of the six-yard box. About 40 seconds of pure footballing brilliance.

The Liverpool team were mere spectators for the entire process, and the 1-0 result at full-time was seismic for both title challengers and Palace's new manager.

This moment and result started a run of six wins and a draw to end the 2023-24 season. In many ways, this is the level of performance the team has been seeking ever since, hampered by a questionable summer of recruitment and injury issues.

For Glasner, it clearly established him as a Premier League-worthy manager in the minds of any lingering doubters left frustrated by previous results.

Even now, that hope remains that if you get the right pieces in place, this team could reach the heights the fans desire.

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Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Premier League game against Bournemouth (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Glasner says Eberechi Eze will likely be available for Thursday's match: "It looks like it, he trained today and now we have to wait, but it looks good."

• He also confirmed that everyone who was available against Arsenal will also be available against Bournemouth.

• On opponents Bournemouth: "They've had a fantastic job from their manager [Andoni Iraola] and I also think the players, alongside Tottenham, they play at the highest intensity. They have so much pace in their attack."

• He was asked what the Christmas schedule looks like for his players: "Of course we have to try focus on the games. We'll train tomorrow morning, a bit earlier than usual, and then the players can go home again and celebrate with their families."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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Jean-Philippe Mateta has comitted his future to Crystal Palace.

You can read more about his contract extension from Alex Howell here

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Crystal Palace and Arsenal.

Here are some of your comments:

Palace fans

Mark: Inevitable. We are carrying too many players who give the ball away cheaply. Plus Arsenal finished their chances and we didn't, unfortunately! We move on with bigger games coming up. We must beat Southampton.

Gary: On a tactical level, we simply didn't learn from Wednesday's defeat. Our midfield was totally dominated and, without Munoz, it was pointless playing a back five.

Gyika: We looked tired and we ended up getting schooled. Individual mistakes cost us dearly. A great finish by Sarr, though - I'm liking him a lot. Hurry back, Munoz, Chalobah and Wharton!

Pedro: I know it is Arsenal, but we just rolled over. We will stay up this season, but it is another season of treading water rather than swimming forward. A massive rethink from the board is needed.

Arsenal fans

Guy: A good win for Arsenal, with confident attacking play and a good range of scorers. We are still too far behind to be challenging for the title, though, and we are still lacking a quality striker. Just because Gabriel Jesus has scored a few against Palace doesn't mean he is clinical enough to lead our line.

Martin: The 5-1 scoreline flattered Arsenal. Palace looked threatening right up until Rice came on and shored the game up. It's going to be a tough run without Saka for a couple of weeks, but Martinelli did well in his position so we should be OK against the opponents we have after Christmas. I hope Jesus scores against teams other than Palace.

Raouf: Arteta's ability to shut games down doesn't get enough attention. At West Ham, we were 5-2 up at half-time and in the second half they were much more solid and didn't give up much. The team were struggling with certain things in this game and he fixed it in the second-half. The formation, with Odegaard and Havertz in midfield, worked well in the first half.

Colin: Arsenal are playing some nice football but I just wish we didn't keep passing back to the goalkeeper so much. I'm sorry, but I'm not very keen on playing out from the back - there are too many mistakes happening.

Crystal Palace want to sign Benfica's German midfielder Jan-Niklas Beste, 25, in January. (Sky Sports Switzerland), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures, including Manchester City's visit to Aston Villa and the London derby between Arsenal and Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• West Ham 1-1 Brighton

• Crystal Palace 1-5 Arsenal